Study
What job did new CFOs hold before they were appointed?
Computed October 23, 2026 from the verified record · Download this table (CSV)
37.5%
of appointees with a stated prior role came from a CFO seat elsewhere
The record gives a prior role for 200 of 242 permanent CFO appointments. The largest named group is CFO of another company, with 75 (37.5% of those with a stated prior role). For the other 42, the filing does not state a prior role.
The counts
| Prior role | Appointments | Share of stated roles | Internal | External | Internal or external not established |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interim CFO | 8 | 4% | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Deputy or assistant CFO | 1 | 0.5% | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Divisional or segment CFO | 10 | 5% | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| CFO of another company | 75 | 37.5% | 0 | 75 | 0 |
| Chief accounting officer or controller | 17 | 8.5% | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Treasurer | 3 | 1.5% | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Finance vice president or head of finance | 27 | 13.5% | 19 | 8 | 0 |
| CEO, president or COO | 25 | 12.5% | 13 | 12 | 0 |
| Other role | 34 | 17% | 12 | 22 | 0 |
| Not established | 42 | 0 | 0 | 42 | |
| All permanent appointments | 242 | 74 | 126 | 42 |
| Group | Rule |
|---|---|
| Interim CFO | names an interim chief financial officer role |
| Deputy or assistant CFO | names a deputy, assistant or associate CFO role |
| Divisional or segment CFO | a CFO title qualified by a segment, division, business unit, subsidiary or region, or a CFO title held inside the same company (internal promotion) |
| CFO of another company | any other chief financial officer title, where the record does not mark the move an internal promotion |
| Chief accounting officer or controller | chief or principal accounting officer, controller or comptroller |
| Treasurer | treasurer |
| Finance vice president or head of finance | a vice president, director or head title in finance, or financial planning and analysis |
| CEO, president or COO | chief executive officer, president or chief operating officer |
| Other role | any other stated role, including consultants, investors, partners and directors |
| Not established | the record gives no prior role |
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How this is computed
- The base is every verified appointment or transition that names an incoming CFO. Interim appointments are counted in the interim study instead.
- Each record's prior_role, the job the filing says the appointee held, is put in one group by the mapping below; the first rule that matches wins.
- Internal and external come from the record's internal_promotion field, which is set only where the filing says so.
- Only verified records count: drafts never build. A share whose base is zero is shown as not established, never as 0%.
What the record cannot tell you
- Many filings name the appointee's most recent role only, so a CFO who left a CFO seat for a different job in between is grouped by that later job.
- The mapping reads titles. It does not know the size of the prior employer or whether a divisional CFO seat was larger than a company CFO seat.
- The record holds the filings CFO Tribune has read and verified, not every filing made. Each figure describes that record only.
Related studies
Do companies promote their next CFO from inside or hire from outside?49.5% of established cases were internal promotions
How many new CFOs are in the seat for the first time?67% of incoming CFOs: first-time status not established by the filing